The Celtics are 5-1 since Avery Bradley returned to the lineup on January 2nd. Dating back to the beginning of last season they are 31-13 when he starts, and 38-40 when he doesn't (including the playoffs). Before Bradley came back Boston was allowing an average of 98.1 points per game. In the 6 games he's played they are giving up just 85.8 PPG. There is no doubt his presence on the floor has had a dramatic impact. So what I'm wondering is, why isn't Bradley on the court more? He's averaging just 23.2 minutes per game so far, and often sitting in crunch time in favor of Jason Terry or Courtney Lee. I posed this question on twitter to MetroWest Daily News beat reporter Scott Souza, who had this in response:

Souza gave me this quote from Doc Rivers in reference to Bradley during a pregame interview on January 4th:

I think your offense is behind when you first come back, but I'm hoping by playoffs Avery's on the floor at the end of games because it's great to have an offensive and defensive guy (out there).

Bradley is shooting only 36.4% from the floor at the moment, so I understand Doc's hesitation. But, after playing just 18 minutes and sitting the entire 4th quarter against Phoenix on Wednesday, Bradley logged 26 minutes vs. Houston Friday, including the final 8:06 of the game. Hopefully those numbers will keep trending in that direction.Follow Mark on twitter @LucidSportsFan